The Rafah border crossing is scheduled to be opened for humanitarian departures from the Gaza Strip starting from next week for three days, Saturday, Monday and Thursday, Palestinian Ambassador in Cairo Barakat al-Farra said Thursday.
Farra said the crossing would remain open in the opposite direction throughout next week for all those who wish to return to Gaza.
The crossing continued to operate one-way Thursday for the second day in a row, allowing Palestinians and pilgrims stranded abroad back into the Gaza Strip.
On Wednesday, 1,104 people used the crossing;129 of those were allowed to cross into Egypt, including 15 members of a Miles of Smiles convoy, which provides free dental care to children, and the Malaysian delegation of solidarity, as well as some humanitarian cases.
Egyptian authorities closed the Rafah crossing for five days starting Friday for Eid al-Fitr, before re-opening it on Monday. The border crossing is typically closed on Fridays and holidays.
The passage was also shut for nine days following a deadly attack on a Sinai military checkpoint that killed 16 security officers earlier this month.
Hamas leader Mahmoud al-Zahar criticized on Thursday Cairo's decision to limit the Rafah border crossing's opening in both directions to only three days a week.
He also criticized "the crossing of 10,000 Zionists to Sinai, and the fact that the Egyptians had to extend [work] in the Taba border crossing," which links Egypt to Israel.
He added on Facebook that "investigations proved that Gaza has nothing to do with the armed attack on Sinai earlier this month."
Edited translation from Al-Masry Al-Youm
